It Ends Tonight
by MidnightShadow07
Summary: "Despite the lies and the secrets, you were a damn good woman, Hollis Mann, and a great pretender of being a former Army Lt. Col." Gibbs raised his glass higher towards the tombstone, giving it a curt nod. "Goodbye…Moira Dearden Queen." One-shot Sequel to More Lies and Secrets


**A/N: I decided to do a Gibbs POV. This will be based off well after both NCIS Season 11 and ARROW Season 2 Finale. I was re-watching NCIS Season 9 and this just suddenly came up. I was torn between the song **_**It Ends Tonight**_** by The All American Rejects and **_**We Are Broken**_** by Paramore, but they both fall in the same category that Gibbs could be feeling. So either song is suitable for this story and for how Gibbs will be feeling. Let me know how you guys liked it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ANY of the characters or the show! They belong to their respective owners.**

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"_**I can't explain what you can explain  
You're finding things that you didn't know  
I look at you with such disdain"**_

_It Ends Tonight_ by The All American Rejects

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**It Ends Tonight**

The truth _**doesn't**_ set you free. Whoever said those words didn't have the one person they had loved and cared being buried in nothing but lies and secrets. And if they were still alive, Leroy Jethro Gibbs liked nothing more but to put a bullet in them! It was over year since Gibbs had last seen former Army Lt. Col. Hollis Mann–_**No**_, Moira Dearden Queen. He had a feeling, the night she came to his basement with the bourbon, then the night they were parting ways, there was just something…_**off**_. But he didn't say anything, just continued to be like they were all right, because that was how he wanted to part with her.

He was at work, doing paperwork, his team not having a case, for once, ignoring the kids–for they were truly kids compared to him, and how they always act with each other–arguing about something. The sound of the elevator dinging was nothing knew, as people have been coming and going all morning, however the quiet footsteps on the glued on carpet quickly caught his attention. Looking up, he frowned at the young man wearing a very expensive suit and shoes that looked somewhat familiar. Then his eyes turned to look behind him and grinned, shaking his head, as he stood, nodding to the dark skinned man.

Before the rich boy was able to introduce himself, Anthony 'Tony' DiNozzo greeted the dark skinned man. Whom he and Tony had thought to be NCIS Special Agent Richard Owens from the Pearl Harbor office is actually John Diggle, former Army Lt. Col. of Special Forces. Owens was actually his cousin, which explained the twin resemblance between the two men. Oliver Queen then introduced himself, slightly annoyed that he was ignored but also amused from the first impression with him and his bodyguard. After asking what they needed, Oliver explained that he was going through his deceased mother's deposit box when he had come across an envelope with his name.

To say the least, Gibbs was utterly confused as he had never heard of his mother's name before, but there on the white envelope was his full name–including his title and location of where he worked. Oliver furthered explained that he didn't want to simply mail the letter, but take it to the person who his mother knew but never had mentioned before. Gibbs immediately opened the letter and he felt his heart stop, and his anger quickly rising the more he read. How was it possible that he had never saw through the lie? She couldn't have been such a good actress to have fooled him for over a year.

"What is it, boss?" Tony asked, confused.

"Who is it from?" Timothy 'Tim' McGee asked next.

Gibbs swallowed, his throat suddenly have gone dry. "Mann." was all he told them.

He asked Oliver how long ago she had passed and how. Apparently it was just under six months ago by some psychopath who had nearly destroyed Starling City. She saved her children by asking the psychopath to kill her and spare her children. Gibbs couldn't help but think that that was so like Hollis to do–Moira, he had to remember that her name was Moira. Oliver demanded to know how it was that he knew his mother, but all Gibbs told him was that if his mother wanted him to know, she would have mentioned him.

It took nearly a month before Gibbs–with a bit of pushing from all three of his teammates _**and **_Leon Vance–had finally gone to Starling City and to the Queen mansion. Oliver showed him to the back, neither man saying a word pass the greeting, and stayed back far enough to give him privacy. Gibbs swallowed, seeing the tombstone with Moira's name, date. Tears clouding his vision–tears of anger, of sorrow–Gibbs went on one knee and laid the bouquet of wild flowers on the ground, the bottle of bourbon she bought him still in his other hand. He touched her name, his jaw locking just the slightest as he remembered her letter to him. She spoke of how she had lied to him, that she was truly sorry, and the real reason why she was forced to go undercover.

"Damn you, Hollis," Gibbs muttered, saying the only name he knew her by, bowing his head. "You were the only one, besides Shannon, who was able to reach my heart. But it was like what you said to me that day in my basement a year ago…there _**was**_ a wall and it _**was**_ my past, and what was good between us was going to fall apart in the end just like my three marriages."

Gibbs inhaled deeply, trying to keep it together. She had just gotten back into his life and now he lost her, and this time for good. Hollis had many chances to tell him the truth, of the real reason why she was in Washington, but she had decided to stick with the lie. Gibbs couldn't help but feel betrayed as he had given her all that he was, she could have trusted him with the truth.

"I really did care for you," he continued in a whisper, touching her real name. "I could have helped, _**if only you told me the truth**_!" he growled angrily, his heart twisting with such betrayal and anger that it hurt to even breathe now. "But it ends tonight, Hollis. This will truly be my final goodbye to you."

Gibbs reached into his pocket and took out two of his glasses that once held nails and bolts. He blew whatever dirt was still there and poured the good amount into each glass. Gibbs sit one down and held the other, downing it on one go. He hissed at the burn, quickly getting to his feet once more. Gibbs poured another amount of the amber liquid and held the glass in a toast, staring down at the tombstone, his eyes now clear of any tears but still full of emotion. No doubt his heart will forever ache for the woman and that he will _**always**_ wondered what would have happened if he only let his past go.

"Despite the lies and the secrets, you were a _**damn**_ good woman, Hollis Mann, and a great pretender of being a former Army Lt. Col." Gibbs raised his glass higher towards the tombstone, giving it a curt nod. "Goodbye…Moira Dearden Queen."

Gibbs threw back the drink once more and turned his back. He gave Oliver and John a curt nod of thanks, not even stopping to speak with them. He walked through the mansion, wanting nothing more but to go back home and throw himself back into work, needing the distraction once more before he was able to let this go. Let _**her**_ go. Just as he reached the front doors, a voice spoke up from behind and above him, making him hesitate to a stop.

"Who the hell are you?"

Turning, Gibbs saw a young woman in her twenties walking quickly down the stairs with a man, no doubt her boyfriend, walking just behind her. "NCIS Special Agent Gibbs. I knew your mother."

The both of them frowned, the boy speaking up. "What the hell is NCIS?"

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Gibbs told them simply.

"Oh my God, how did my mom get involved with the _**Navy**_?" the young woman asked confused.

Gibbs grinned, seeing a lot of her mother in her. "She helped out a case a few years back. I just found out about her death. I'm sorry for your loss."

The woman shrugged, folding her arms and closing herself in. Again, Gibbs was able to see her mother in her, as well as the hurt and anger. Smiling softly, Gibbs moved forward and touched the woman's head as a parent would do for their distress child.

"Despite all her faults, your mother was a _**great**_ woman. Remember the good," he shook his head, "not the bad."

Seeing the tears starting to swell, Gibbs knew that he was able to get through her walls just the tiniest bit. So he leaned forward, kissing her forehead, a small rub to her head, and walked away before his own emotions took over. He saw Oliver and John from the corner of his eye, no doubt had witness what had just happened. Gibbs hesitated at the open door and looked back to stare at the group and the two children–he didn't doubt now that the young woman was Moira's daughter–and merely nodded softly.

Yes, it truly was the finale goodbye…and a chapter to his past that concerned Hollis Mann ending tonight. Physically, and mentally, he closed the door.


End file.
